Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro Talks NFL Draft, Eagles & More with Rich

Pittsburgh, day one of a three-day residency, and the Commonwealth's chief executive walks in. Governor Josh Shapiro greets Rich and immediately pivots to a Franco Harris memory, the night the Steelers played a Saturday Christmas Eve game against the Raiders and the airport had become a shrine to the Immaculate Reception. He calls Pittsburgh one of the most beautiful cities on Earth at night and says Thursday's draft, with clear weather, is going to look amazing. Credit to the NFL, the Rooney family, the mayor, the county executive, and the state team. Hundreds of thousands of people, all rowing in the same direction.

Rich asks if Shapiro had a hand in landing the draft. The answer: weeks into the job, with the Eagles in the Super Bowl, he found Roger Goodell and made himself, in his words, the biggest pain in the ass about Pittsburgh. He tells Mr. Rooney they would run through a brick wall. Goodell, he says, has a soft spot for the Steelers because Dan Rooney is the man who knocked on the door to tell him he had been elected commissioner. The draft, Shapiro says, is also a real economic development engine. Downtown is looking better and better and the city has been building toward this date.

Then Rich pokes the Eagles fan wearing a Pennsylvania jacket. Shapiro will not pretend, he was a Birds fan as a kid, calling 610 WIP from his transistor radio as Josh from Dresher, getting a 12-year-old's thrill when they took his call. Now if he calls in as governor they want to talk politics, and he does not want to talk politics. He grants that Yinzers respect a guy who is true to who he is. TJ Jefferson, in from Altoona, settles whether Pittsburgh is East Coast or Midwest. Shapiro lands on Midwestern vibe with East Coast neighbors, and adds that Birds-Steelers is no real rivalry. Penguins-Flyers, that is hate.

The AJ Brown question. Does Shapiro use the office for inside scoop. He calls Howie Roseman the best GM in any sport and says he is careful not to abuse the friendship. They text, they share opinions, they do not pry. The Sixers, on the other hand, break his heart. After game one he was protecting himself emotionally. After game two against Boston he is back in. He fears for Embiid's body, top two or three physically gifted player in the league, and praises the Maxey-PJ backcourt as the best he has seen since Iverson, who never had complementing stars like that. A grounded politician, an unguarded fan, and a city ready to host.